Aer Lingus dispute deepens with accusations of ‘blackmail’ and ‘greed’

The rift between Aer Lingus management and Ialpa has widened with the airline accusing the pilots’ union of “blackmail” and the union responding with claims of “greed”. Both parties have also claimed they stand ready for talks while suggesting that the other side is the sole stumbling block to meaningful negotiations starting. The airline has cancelled close to 250 flights over a five day period from next Wednesday, including over 100 on Saturday. Aer Lingus said it was left with no choice after pilots announced an eight hour all-out strike from 5am on Saturday, June 29th. The dispute centres around a pay claim with Ialpa seeking a 24% increase which is says it will cover inflation over a five-year period and management making an initial offer of just under 10%. Speaking on the Anton Savage Show on Newstalk on Sunday morning, Donal Moriarty of Aer Lingus accused the pilots of “seeking to blackmail the company by inflicting enormous pain on the company but more importantly on the company’s customers”. He denied claims made by Ialpa that management was unwilling to enter into talks aimed at resolving the dispute. “The last talks that we had with Ialpa were on June 17th and Ialpa ended those talks based upon their refusal discuss ways in which pay could be increased beyond the 12.5% that had been agreed with every other collectively bargained group in Aer Lingus,” he said.<br/>